Breaking the Cycle
by Sir Kibble
Summary: What if it was time to break the cycle? But what if it could go both ways? In order to end the bondage of repetition, one side must come out on top, good or evil. However, it might not necessarily be the evil from without, but maybe, it's the evil from within that is the most dangerous.


I decided to rewrite this story. It's taking a completely different take on the story and is, in fact, something completely different. I plan to flesh it out a lot more and to make it a bit easier to follow. I figured it was bad when I had to go back and reread the chapters because I couldn't get a good picture of the story from the fourth chapter and I, myself, wrote the story! So here it is, The Legend of Veran.

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"The legends tell of a hero who controlled time, stopped the moon from falling, conducted the winds, and felled mighty demons. This legend, however, ends the legends. It tells of an alteration to the familiar tales. By a random luck of the draw, the players have changed places. This tale ends the cycle that has plagued the fair land of Hyrule for far too long. All paths converge on to this one point. The three times become one and everything connects. Everyone plays a role in this game–a vital role–that could either destroy the world or bring about its freedom." The goddess giggled.

"Oh yes, Nayru! This certainly will be interesting! Who would have thought that things would happen this way?" Farore exclaimed.

"Both of you, hush! I want to see how this plays out. Rise and shine, little hero. Time to get up! No one is more deserving of a rest and your hour has come again." Din smiled.

Link woke up in a cold sweat; he had another nightmare. It had been years since his exile. He had fought back against the general when he started persecuting the different races. For as long as he could remember, all of the creatures of Hyrule had lived peacefully. There and been no wars and evil was a thing of the past. Hyrule's history had gotten muddled. Different stories were told and debunked. Some spoke of a hero split in four, some spoke of a hero conducting a train of rebirth, and some spoke of a hero facing his inner demons. All seemed to be from completely different realities, completely different times and no one knew how they had gotten mixed together or if they were even true or not. It leads one to wonder, what one event had occurred to bring all three timelines together? What brought three separate realities into one?

To continue on, Hyrule had been at peace for decades. There had been no major attacks against Hyrule since the Shadow Era and Hyrule's Rebirth. However, a man by the name of Scompar came in one day, claiming that the other races were planning a coup of the current rule of Hyrule. He ranted that the only true Hylians were the human races and all others were just freeloaders. The Princess usually ruled peacefully, but everything changed that day. She bought into the lies and thus sent her troops to pacify, or rather, enslave, the other races. And so began the Tyranny of Hyrule. Link, a General of the Hyrule Peacekeeping Force, or GHPF, could not support the new initiative. He stood his ground and was exiled from the GHPF, as well as the Castle Town and anywhere that the Hyrule Kingdom forces were stationed. He took refuge in a place known as Kokiri Forest. It was guarded by a special magic and untouched by the Hylians, thanks to the Great Deku Tree.

Link had given up revenge and fighting, though. The Kokiri were a peaceful race. All appeared to be kids, even though they were well over 100 years old. Link was considerably the youngest of them all. Since his exile, he had dawned a tunic reminiscent of the Hero of Time, whom the Kokiri held in high regard. His hair had grown shaggy and long, and he decided to forgo shaving and grow out a full beard. He looked completely different, but he liked it this way. He seemed more peaceful and gentle, but no one would guess that underneath that exterior, lay a broken, hardened warrior.

He sat up in bed, terrified of what he saw. A Hyrule in ruins with a man on a throne of fire. His hair matched the burning flames that engulfed the lands and at his right, stood a woman holding his hat, laughing as she set it ablaze. He could not decipher who these two figures were, but he knew that something was amiss. Link got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. There was not much to do in Kokiri Forest. Even though times had changed since it was put on the map of being the home of the Hero of Time, it still had a really laid back lifestyle. There were always crops to be tended to, livestock to feed and take care of, and fun to be had. To outsiders, it may have looked boring, but on this inside, it was teeming with joy and fun, completely ignorant to the terror going on outside of its walls.

Link climbed down his treehouse, the same one that had previously been inhabited by the legendary hero. As he touched the ground, he saw his friend Kasuto. She smiled and waved at him as he walked over to her. She had quickly befriended him after learning his story. She had heard many stories of how he would lead the GHPF in far away lands such as Termina, Muda Kingdom, and Dreamland and was overjoyed when she finally got to meet him.

"Hey there, Mr. Mountain Man, what are you doing today?" Kasuto smiled, waiting for a reply.

Link yawned and stretched out his arms, "I was hoping to catch some more z's, but a nightmare woke me up. Seems a little slow around here today."

"Yea, it sure is boring around here. I wonder what Saria and Mido are up to!" Kasuto rolled her eyes.

"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Although, if it rhymes with "checks", then you're probably right." Link laughed, causing Kasuto to laugh as well.

"Well, I have an idea. We should go into the Lost Woods today! I have something I want to give you, but I'd rather not do it here." Kasuto jumped for joy.

"If this is a proposition, I'll have you know I'm a respected member of this community and–" Kasuto punched him playfully before he could finish.

The two ran off into the woods, trying to make the best of the day. For as long as Hyrule had been at peace, so had the Lost Woods. Ever since the evil that had resided in the land had died down, the Skull Children and Stalchidren had returned to normal. The Skull Children reverted back to being Kokiris and the Stalchildren were finally at peace along with the Poes. The Lost Woods had become a place to play and hang out. There was not much to do there, aside from visit the Forest Temple which had been maintained over all of the years. The two finally found their way into the clearing in front of the Forest Temple and Kasuto sat down on a familiar stump.

"You'd think that after all these years, a tree would have grown here." She pondered as she laid back.

"You said you had something for me?" Link asked.

"Oh, that's right! I found this here a long while ago. I don't understand how it got here or why it's here, but I figured you of all people might be able to use it or at least get some enjoyment from it." Kasuto reached into her bag and pulled out a blue object. She held it towards Link, beckoning for him to take it.

"I recognize this… as if from a distant memory or from legends of a time long ago, but… I think this is the Ocarina of Time." Link took it from her hand. He instinctively played a song that he recalled.

"Oh that was beautiful! I didn't know you knew how to play!" Kasuto clapped her hands at the sound.

"Neither did I…" Link looked at the Ocarina, puzzled. Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder was heard off into the distance and then it immediately started pouring. "Well… that's weird. It looks like we're going to have to wait off the storm. Let's head into the temple so we don't catch a cold or something."

"Okay, mom." Kasuto mocked as she started towards the temple.

"Mom? You're old enough to be Great Great Great Grandmother!" Link retorted, racing past her into the temple, "catch you inside, slowpoke!"


End file.
